An audible breath escaped my lips. I stared down at the mess of branches that were holding me in place and immediately tried to resist. However, no matter how much I struggled, they held firm and wouldn't budge. In fact, it felt as though the more I tried, the tighter they became.
No more than a second later, they squeezed me so tight against the tree trunk that it was becoming hard to breathe. I groaned in pain, unsure of what to do. If my body wasn't strengthened, my bones would have most definitely shattered under the pressure.
The tree halted its crushing hold after a bit and I could feel pulses as it wanted to continue but it seemed it couldn't muster up enough strength. Loud, ominous creaking paired with the sound of rustling leaves filled the air, stirring confusion within me.
I looked around and saw its branches swaying as if the tree had become annoyed. My head spun, trying to make sense of what would become of me now. Suddenly, I felt the pressure on my body lessen.
Had the tree given up? I wondered, but no. It was something so much worse.
With my back pressed against the thick log of wood that made up this weird creature, I could feel a large spot behind me, about the length of my body, begin to dig in. It was opening up in order to eat me alive.
I began to squirm around at the realization, hoping against all odds that the thick branches would break and I'd be set free. However as the seconds ticked by, no such scenario happened. The branches kept pulling me in. My thoughts became clouded with fear and every sound around me was drowned out by the pounding of my heart.
Just when all hope seemed lost, my mind raced, trying to find a solution within the vast reservoir of memories and experiences that made up my life thus far. Before I was pulled completely into the hollowness of the tree to be digested, I came to realize something.
My back was pressed against the area that was being burrowed, while the branches wrapped around my torso were holding me through the front. The more the space behind me opened up, the more the pressure holding me in place lessened.
I stopped struggling and waited for just the right time. I've always been on the lanky side and due to my history of bullying, I was often tossed around and shoved in tight spaces against my will. So, when the time finally came, I focused all my strength into ducking.
I let myself fall when the largest opening appeared. With only my torso held, I squeezed through without a problem. It also helped that my knees pushed up against the nearest thick branch, making it easier for me to pull my upper body down.
My arms, body, and face slipped out of the rough texture of the wood with less effort than I originally thought it would take. Then, as quickly as I could, I sprung forward and rolled through the soil, trying to put as much distance as I could between me and the tree. I stood up and took a quick glance at my body. My clothes had long been dirtied and torn but that wasn't what I looked for. I smirked. Thanks to my enhanced body, I came out without a scratch.
Taking a few steps back, I faced the tree with caution since I was still a short distance from it. Its branches opened up once again now that I wasn't in their hold. They moved eerily while emitting a harsh sound, making it look like many menacing pincers before the opening that was supposed to swallow me whole.
The tree creaked loudly as if letting out a shrill cry. The noise itself rattled my bones, bringing me a shiver that made my hairs stand on end. My senses were acting up again. That meant something was coming, and whatever it was, I didn't want to find out. Before I could fully make my escape, the large trunk that held up the tall tree bent forward, littering the air with cracks, tears, and that same ominous grinding squeal.
I was taken aback for a moment. Yet within that moment, one of the many long, curved, jagged branches stretched and lashed out my way like a whip. My whole body shuddered and, on instinct, I threw myself to the side, barely avoiding a crushing blow that threw dirt up into the air and left a dent on the soil.
I regained myself and was about to run the opposite way as quickly as I possibly could. However, when I turned in the opposing direction, I was struck straight on the stomach by a different branch. The wooden limb clung to me for a second as it flung me backwards. A sharp yelp escaped my lips as the air was forced from my lungs.
The world spun, my vision blurring from shock, and before I could even process what had happened, I found myself sprawled on the ground writhing in agony as searing pain spread across my core.
I was barely given a single second of respite before I felt a piercing sting all around my body. I quickly spun to the side, dragging my body through the dirt. As soon as I moved, a heavy branch came crashing down right on the spot where I used to be. It didn't stop at just one. Almost instantly, I had to turn again and again, back and forth so that I wouldn't get hit.
I managed to get back up to my feet and with one hand firmly pressed against my stomach, I swallowed back my pain. I didn't have time to relax and patiently wait for it to pass since I was in constant movement.
A flexible, limb-like branch thrust forward. I took a step and turned my body to the side, feeling the wind it carried rush past me. Another thrust forward right in the spot I landed on when I dodged the first one.
I leaped back, turning my body one hundred and eighty degrees in the process. Immediately, I began to sprint, feeling whooshes of air behind me due to the many branches plunging themselves forward in an attempt to strike me.
This was my chance, I thought to myself and gradually, I began to deviate away from the tree. Just as I thought I was out of it, I came to a stop immediately.
In front of me a branch zipped across my view. Had I taken another step, I would have been hit straight on. I realized at that moment I had made a big mistake, I stopped completely. I immediately put myself on the move again, taking a step in whichever direction I wanted. It didn't matter so long as I wasn't standing still but it was too late.
I shivered, my heart pounding in my chest, spreading throughout my body a chilling emotion, fear. In that single heart beat, a branch managed to wrap itself around my leg.
It didn't waste a second and quickly began to pull me in. In the process, I was raised and slammed against the hard ground. Once. Twice. Three times. I stopped counting as all the constant movement made me dizzy. On the final one, my face was pressed firmly against the ground and my body dragged through the dirt.
My body was yanked once again, my limbs flailed wildly as I was being swung rapidly through the air. I looked ahead and noticed another tree in my path. The damned creature was planning to inflict me with as much damage as it could.
My eyes widened and in a panic, I reached down to grab the thick branch holding my leg. In a desperate move, I pulled my body toward it, causing my captured leg to bend at a painful angle.
My knee was just inches away from scraping the rough wooden surface of the trunk as the rest of my body swung right past it, evading the painful and likely damaging blow it would have delivered.
However, avoiding that one attack was the least of my worries. I had forgotten about it the next second as the speed picked up and the wooden limb gripping my leg suddenly released me, flinging my body at the peak of the hurl.
I twisted in mid-air and slammed into the ground, landing hard on my shoulder. I rolled across the ground before pushing myself back onto my feet in one swift motion.
Yet, it didn't matter how fast I was, the creature was already on me. Upon managing to stand on my own two feet, a large branch thrust itself straight into my chest with tremendous force, knocking the wind straight out of me. It clung to me, wrapping itself around my torso, as it pushed me back. I couldn't focus on anything that was happening by that point, it was as if my mind had gone blank.
The next thing I knew, my body had smashed into the trunk of another nearby tree, causing the back of my head to slam against the sturdy surface. The world slithered before my eyes and I grew dizzy.
I was out of breath and I felt like I needed to throw up. Despite my current state and desperate need to recover, the ferocious tree continued its assault, providing me with no such thing as mercy.
My head, arms and legs flew backwards as I was yanked in, pulled by my restrained torso. In a quick motion I could barely process, I was brought up and rammed into the ground. The branches unraveled, setting me free. My blurry eyes focused just long enough to see a looming shadow sweep over me.
My whole body tingled, warning me of danger. I put all the remaining strength I had left into rolling over to my side. At that moment, a thick branch fell just inches away from my body.
Slowly, I got some air into my lungs and managed to get back up to my feet. Immediately, I brought my arms up to shield my face as another wooden limb swooped me over. Just like that, I was struck back down again.
Sprawled on the floor, my body tingled once more but I wasn't quick enough to dodge completely this time. I rolled over to my back and tensed up, preparing myself for the blow.
The tree fell heavily onto my unprotected form with such force that I was left in a momentary state of paralysis. I couldn't even cry out in pain and only felt my eyes begin to water up.
At my feet, I could feel as the tree wrapped a branch around my leg and slowly dragged my limp body close. I dug my fingers deep in the soil trying to claw my way to freedom but it was all for nothing, I just kept getting pulled in, all my feeble efforts a simple waste of energy. Had I had proper rest and a filling meal, would this have turned out different?
Was this the end for me? No. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. I don't accept it.
I clenched my fists tightly, feeling as anger boiled up inside me and yet, I couldn't do anything, I was beginning to lose consciousness. Was I always destined to be that same weak, helpless kid who always gets pushed around. A pitiful breath of existence that no one ever bothered to acknowledge or lend a helping hand.
My breath grew slower, my eye lids were dropping. Due to my current state I could hardly think of anything other than my feelings of spite and anger. My refusal to accept that this was my end.
Just then, my ears caught the sound of a distant pluck, followed by a whistle, and a thud. I managed to turn my head and saw a flaming arrow sticking out of the side of the tree.
My gaze swept around the area I could manage to face and out in the distance, seamlessly appearing out of the thicket of the many trees and bushes were humanoid silhouettes. I couldn't discern their appearance from where I lay and I wouldn't be able to. As my eyelids fell for the final time, darkness consumed me.